Morocco passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma) for the Morocco passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Morocco passport photo?
A Moroccan passport photo is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), in colour and recent. For applications filed in Morocco the background may be light blue, white or light grey; consulates abroad ask for white or light blue. Face the camera with your whole face visible, mouth closed and no smile. Clear-lens glasses are allowed if your eyes show and there is no glare. In Morocco you hand in one print; consulates want two identical prints.
Morocco's biometric passport is issued to any Moroccan citizen who applies for it, whatever their age, unless a court decision stands in the way. Decree 2.08.310 of October 2008, which created it, leaves the application formalities to a joint order of the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministers, and the passport's chip holds fingerprint images of two fingers besides the data printed on the personal page, photo included. In Morocco the application is prepared on the Interior Ministry's passport portal; Moroccans abroad apply at the consulate where they are registered.
You fill in the form online, print it on A4 paper and hand it in with an electronic stamp-duty code (e-timbre) and the listed documents at the administrative annex (annexe administrative) or caïdat for your home address. The photo is a print that goes into this paper file; nothing is uploaded. The portal's list for applications in Morocco asks for one recent 35 x 45 mm identity photo on a light blue, white or light grey background, showing you from the front with every feature of the face clearly visible.
The portal also publishes a four-page photo standard with accepted and rejected examples. It covers sharpness, lighting and colour, the background, head position and gaze, expression, glasses, headwear and young children. Consulates work from the Foreign Ministry's own document list, which asks for two identical photos on white or light blue.
Morocco passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma):[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No upload: the photo is a print filed with the paper application |
| Background | Plain light blue, white or light grey in Morocco; white or light blue at consulates; no shadows |
| Colour | Colour, correctly exposed and contrasted, rendering the skin tone faithfully |
| Photo age | Recent; no exact period is published |
| Print quality | Perfectly sharp, with no stains or ink marks; no flash marks, red eyes or shadows on the face |
| Pixels when printed | 413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- Background depends on where you apply
The current document list for applications in Morocco accepts a light blue, white or light grey background. The Foreign Ministry's consular list asks for white or light blue. The portal's photo standard wants the background plain and free of shadows, and its own wording names only sky blue or light grey, so light blue is the one colour every list accepts.
- Face centred, eyes on the lens
Your face must be in the centre of the picture. Hold your head straight, turned squarely towards the camera, and look directly into the lens; a head turned to the side or eyes looking away are shown as rejected.
- Neutral expression, mouth closed
The face must be uncovered and neutral: mouth closed, no smile, and eyes open normally and clearly visible. Hair falling across an eye is one of the standard's rejected examples.
- Sharp, clean colour print
The standard refuses blurred pictures and prints with stains or ink marks. The photo must be in colour, well exposed and correctly contrasted, with no flash marks, red eyes or shadows on the face, and brightness and colour that show your true skin tone.
- Whole face from chin to forehead
Every part of the face, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, must be fully visible. Decorative headwear such as hats and caps is not allowed.
- One print in Morocco, two abroad
The list for applications filed in Morocco asks for one photo for every category of applicant, adults and children alike. Consulates ask for two identical prints; the embassy in Canberra also asks for four passport-size photographs in its separate renewal checklist.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use a plain light blue, white or light grey background with no shadows
- Hold your head straight and look into the lens
- Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open
- Make sure the colours show your real skin tone
- Bring two identical prints if you apply at a consulate
- Take off tinted glasses or glasses with thick frames
Don't
- Do not smile or open your mouth
- Do not wear a hat, cap or other decorative headwear
- Do not cover any part of your face from chin to forehead
- Do not hand in a blurred print or one with stains or ink marks
- Do not use a photo with flash glare, red eyes or shadows on your face
- Do not include another person or a toy in a child's photo
Sample photos
How a Morocco passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Glasses are optional: the passport photo standard says wearing them is not compulsory. If you keep them on, only clear lenses are accepted, and the frames must leave your eyes fully visible without covering them, even partly. Tinted lenses and thick frames must come off, and light reflecting on the lenses is not accepted.
In the standard's examples, tinted glasses are marked as rejected, and thin-framed clear glasses with no reflection as accepted.
Headwear and religious dress
The standard requires every element of the face, from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead, to be entirely visible so that the whole face can be clearly made out. Decorative headwear, such as hats, caps and similar, is not allowed.
Its examples show how this works for head coverings: a headscarf that frames the face and leaves the forehead uncovered is marked as accepted, while a scarf drawn down over the forehead and a face veil are marked as rejected.
Babies and children
There is no minimum age: a passport can be issued to a baby. A parent or, failing that, the legal representative applies for a minor, and minors must be accompanied by one of their parents when the file is handed in; a parent or the legal representative collects the passport. Children under 12 apply with a birth certificate extract instead of an identity card; those aged 12 to 18 attach a copy of their own CNIE. Abroad, minors aged 12 to 18 who have no CNIE must go to the consulate to give their fingerprints.
For young children the photo standard relaxes two rules. A baby or toddler need not have a neutral expression or look straight at the camera, but must be photographed from the front. The child must be alone in the picture, with no other person or object such as a toy; if someone has to hold the child, that person must not appear.
Printed and digital photos
The Moroccan passport works with prints only. The online form is filled in and then printed, and the photo goes into the paper file with the other documents. Applications in Morocco need one print; at consulates the Foreign Ministry's list asks for two identical prints, and the embassy in Canberra also asks for a prepaid self-addressed envelope with each file.
The standard asks for a perfectly sharp print without stains or ink marks. A digital photo can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
In Morocco, hand the application in at the annexe administrative or caïdat covering the place where you live or, failing that, where you are staying. The applicant must attend in person, adult or minor, and the local authority gives you a receipt. You can follow the file online with the number on the receipt and are told by SMS or email when the passport is ready. Collect it in person with an identity document and the receipt; passports not collected within two months of issue are cancelled and destroyed.
Moroccans living abroad apply at the embassy or consulate general where they are registered, with an updated consular registration. The consular service takes the file against a receipt, the applicant must be present when it is filed, and the same receipt is needed to collect the passport.
How to get your Morocco passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Morocco passport: 35 × 45 mm print, plain light blue background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: background depends on where you apply; face centred, eyes on the lens; neutral expression, mouth closed; sharp, clean colour print.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The Moroccan passport works with prints only. The online form is filled in and then printed, and the photo goes into the paper file with the other documents.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Morocco, hand the application in at the annexe administrative or caïdat covering the place where you live or, failing that, where you are staying. The applicant must attend in person, adult or minor, and the local authority gives you a receipt.
Morocco passport photo FAQ
35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), in colour. The size is the same for applications filed in Morocco and at consulates abroad; only the accepted background colours and the number of prints differ.
Yes. The current document list for applications in Morocco accepts light blue, white or light grey, and consulates accept white or light blue. The portal's older photo standard names only sky blue or light grey, so light blue is the colour accepted on every list.
No. The standard asks for a neutral expression with the mouth closed and no smile, and eyes open normally and clearly visible. Only very young children are excused from the neutral expression.
The standard requires every feature from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead to be fully visible and bans decorative headwear such as hats and caps. Its examples accept a headscarf that leaves the forehead and whole face uncovered, and reject a face veil.
One for an application filed in Morocco, according to the passport portal's document list. Consulates ask for two identical prints. Check your own consulate's list: the embassy in Canberra asks for four passport-size photographs in its renewal checklist.
No. Both the passport portal and the consular lists ask you to bring a printed photo with the application, and neither describes a photo being taken on site. You still have to attend in person when the file is handed in.
Only if the parent does not appear in the picture. The standard says a young child must be photographed alone, with no other person or object, and that anyone supporting the child must stay out of the frame.
Related photo specifications
Other Morocco documents
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
Passports nearby
- Algeria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Egypt passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Libya passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Sudan passport photo
- Tunisia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 35 × 45 mm
- Afghanistan visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria work permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Andorra passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Anguilla passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Antigua and Barbuda passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Armenia visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- All Morocco photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Africa
Official sources
- Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma). Passeport biométrique : pièces à fournir au Maroc passeport.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma). Normes pour les photographies d'identité du passeport passeport.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma). Procédure de délivrance au Maroc passeport.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma). Foire aux questions passeport.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Justice, Kingdom of Morocco (Adala). Décret n° 2.08.310 instituant le passeport biométrique (Arabic) adala.justice.gov.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Morocco. Délivrance du passeport biométrique consulat.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Australia. Biometric passport au.diplomatie.ma. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of the Interior, Kingdom of Morocco (passeport.ma) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Morocco passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/morocco/passport-photo